Safety razor



H. ELLlOTT SAFETY RAZOR June 14, 1938.

Filed July 7, 1936 w a OO m F W 7 .w 3 6 m P Patented June 14, 1938 UNITED STATES 2,120,399 SAFETY RAZOR Henry Elliott, Streathain, London, England Application July 7, 1936, Serial No. 89,442 In Great Britain July 10, 1935 6 Claims.

The invention relates to safety razors and has for its object to permit the blade holder to move relatively to the handle of the razor.

With this object in view the invention consists in a safety razor wherein the blade holder is attached to the handle of the razor through the medium of a member adapted to yield by flexure substantially in one direction only, means being provided to prevent torsional twisting of this member during the attachment or detachment of the handle to or from the blade holder.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood it will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 shows an adapter according to the invention for connecting the blade holder of a safety razor to the handle thereof,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1,

Figure 3 shows a modified form of the adapter shown in Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the adapter shown in Figure 3,

Figure 5 shows a further embodiment of the adapter shown in Figures 3 and 4 in section,

Figure 6 shows the complete razor with the adapter according to Figures 3 and 4 in. position,

Figure 7 shows a complete razor with the adapter according to Figure 5 in position, and

Figure 8 a modification of the razor shown in Figure 7.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 1 and 2 a short fiat spring strip l of steel or other suitable metal is attached at one end to a boss 2 having a threaded hole 3 therein and provided with diametrically opposed forked arms 4 which depend downwardly from the boss. At the upper part of the boss a cover 5 is provided having a central aperture 6 in its top face, and between this top face and the face of the boss 2 there is provided a spring 7 the purpose of which will be hereinafter described.

The other end of the spring strip l is attached to the head 8 of a bolt 9, and secured to this bolt there is a cross member I!) having arms ll extending upwardly into the slots between the forks 4. It will be clear from Figure 2 that the arms H are of considerably smaller width than the slots between the arms of the forked members and the spring strip I therefore has perfect freedom of movement in its natural direction of flexure.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4 these show an adapter of essentially similar form in that it comprises a flat spring strip I attached at one end to a boss 2 and at the other end to a socket M which has an internal thread for connection to the razor handle. Inthis modification, however, the boss 2, instead of having secured thereto forked projections, has merely a rod l5 passing through it, this rod also serving to anchor the spring strip l. The arms of this rod are adapted to lie between the forked ends of two upward projections l6 attached to the socket it. Further, the boss 2 is provided with a threaded extension H which extends through the aperture 6 in the cover 5.

The adapter according to Figures 3 and 4 is shown in use in Figure 6, the boss 2 being screwed by means of the threaded projection I! on to the carrier plate 58 of a blade holder E2 of the type known under the registered trade-mark as Ever Ready. The socket, M is screwed on to a threaded projection from the handle i3, and it will be noted from Figure G-that the adapter is so positioned that the plane of flexure of the spring strip i is at an angle to the plane containing the edge of the blade. It will be clear that this angular relationship may be varied to any desired degree, the spring 1 within the housing 5 allowing the adapter to maintain a firm grip upon the blade holder in whatever relative position the two parts are maintained. It will be understood that by setting the adapter in the position shown in Figure 6 when the blade meets resistance during shaving the force transmitted to the spring strip has a component causing it to bend, and thus a lateral or shearing movement is' imparted to the blade. When the resistance is removed the spring strip returns the blade holder to its normal position.

Referring now to Figure 5, this shows an adapter of the same general form as that shown in Figures 3 and 4, but in. this case the housing 2 is provided with a threaded aperture to engage the screw-threaded central projection of the blade holder of a razor of the kind known under the registered trade-mark Gillette. Further, as in Figure 1, the lower end of the spring strip is connected to a threaded bolt for screwing into a threaded aperture in the handle of the razor.

This adapter in use is shown in Figure 7, the boss 2 being screwed on to the screw-threaded projection from the head l2 to an extent sufficient to obtain the necessary grip and at the same time to obtain the desired angular relationship between the direction of flexure of the strip and the edge of the blade.

Referring now to Figure 8, this shows a razor also of the kind known under the registered trade-mark Gillette, but in this case the adapter is similar to that shown in Figures 3 and 4, but the forked arms l6 are formed integral with the handle l3.

In all the above described embodiments the boss carried by one end of the spring strip has freedom of movement within the limits imposed by the member carried by the other end of the spring strip. More particularly the blade holder has freedom of movement in a plane perpendicular to the normal plane of the spring strip, and this movement is free and unrestricted by the said member carried by that end of the spring strip remote from the boss. In order that the shearing action above referred to may be of sumcient delicacy the spring strip must be very light, that is to say it must flex freely under very small loadings. Such a spring would be too light to carry the necessary torsional force required to secure the handle, the adapter and the blade holder together, but the interengagement of the member carried by one end of the spring strip with the plane or forked projections carried by the other end of the spring strip enables this torsional force to be transmitted direct from the handle to the blade holder without undue torsional stressing of the light spring strip.

While, as above described, it is preferred that the device be made as a separate unit suitable for combination with an existing razor, the parts may if desired be integral with or permanently attached to the handle or other parts of the razor.

It must .be understood that the invention is not limited solely to the details of the form described above since various modifications may be introduced as they become necessary or desirable in order to carry the invention into effect under different conditions and requirements which have to be fulfilled, without departing in any way from the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:-

1. A safety razor comprising a blade holder, a handle, a resilient member connected at one end to said handle and adapted to yield by flexure substantially in one plane only, means for connecting the other end of said resilient member to said blade holder so that the angular relationship between the direction of flexure of the said resilient member and the edge of the blade holder may be adjusted to choice, and means other than said resilient member for counteracting torsional twisting of said member during attachment and detachment of the handle and said resilient member to and from the said blade holder.

2. A safety razor as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resilient member comprises a flat flexible metal strip.

3. A safety razor comprising a blade holder, a handle, a resilient member connected at one end to said handle and adapted to yield by flexure substantially in one plane only, a head to which the other end of said resilient member is connected, a cover slidably mounted on said head, a spring interposed between said cover and said head, upwardly projecting diametrically opposed forked extensions from said handle and diametrically opposed projections from said head extending between the forks on the said handle extensions.

4. An adapter for a safety razor comprising a blade holder attachment member, a handle attachment member, a resilient member connected between said members and adapted to yield by flexure substantially in one plane only, means for connecting said blade holder attachment member to the blade holder so that the angular relationship between the direction of flexure of the said resilient member and the edge of the blade holder may be adjusted to choice and means other than said resilient member for counteracting torsional twisting of said resilient member when said adapter is attached and detached to and from the blade holder or the handle.

5. An adapter for a safety razor comprising a handle attachment member, a fiat flexible metal strip connected at one end to said member, a head to which the other end of said strip is connected, a cover slidably mounted on said head, a

spring interposed between said cover and said head, diametrically opposed forked extensions from said head and upwardly projecting extensions from said handle attachment member lying between said forked extensions.

6. An adapter for a safety razor comprising a handle attachment member, a flat flexible metal strip connected at one end to said member, a head to which the other end of said strip is connected, a cover slidably mounted on said head, a spring interposed between said cover and said head, diametrically opposed projections in the form of rods from 'said head and upwardly projecting diametrically opposed forked extensions from said handle attachment member embracing said rods.

HENRY ELLIO'IT. 

